Sunshine

Danny Boyle's 'Sunshine' is set in the future, at a time when our sun is dying, consequently threatening life on Earth. A solitary manned spaceship is sent toward the sun with the intention of detonating a nuclear device on its surface, thus kick-starting it back to life...

In the hands of Jerry Bruckheimer a plot like that could easily have been turned into another 'wham-bang' action movie like 'Armageddon'. But Boyle approaches it in a style much more akin to 1970s science fiction classics like 'Silent Running' and '2001'. In his hands the story becomes a solemn meditation on the isolation of space travel, of carrying the weight of responsibility, and of trying to hold onto hope in the face of impossible odds. It also contains a scenario mid-way way through the film which poses a devastating moral dilemma for the crew, one which poses a fascinating 'what would you do?' question to the viewer, and which provides the film with its most emotionally charged and compelling scenes.

'Sunshine' is however a frustrating film, So impressive in its first hour, yet undermined by a sudden and detrimental change of gear half way through its running time. Without giving anything away, all I can say is that it almost feels like someone got the scripts for two different films muddled up and that Boyle was given the first half of 'Sunshine' and the second half of 'Nightmare on Elm Ship'. Its not that the second half is bad, its just that it is predictable and formulaic, and simply isn't the movie you were enjoying up until that point.

Nevertheless 'Sunshine' is still essential viewing for science fiction fans, because that first hour is just so good. The visual effects are tremendous - the spacecraft is beautifully realised, and the Sun has a real presence throughout (the viewing deck, in which the crew view the Sun through giant filters is a very nice idea). There's real poetry here, the kind of poetry that comes through in real-life footage of space flight. The acting is good, the characters well drawn, and the treacherous nature of their mission infuses every scene with tension.

What a magnificent film 'Sunshine' nearly was...